Clocks & Colours

Clocks and Colours take pride in developing works that are appropriately macho. All of their collections are modelled after the manliest things imaginable – like skulls, bombs, scorpions, sailing ships and motorcycles. Each of the works you’ll find in this section is built ‘with the quality to survive bar fights and uncontrolled skids’, which is reassuring, even if you never put the claim to the test!

The rings and bracelets in this section are designed in Toronto, Canada, and carved by hand in Bali by master silversmiths. The imagery on display here owes a great deal to the North American frontier – just take a look at them and you’ll see an abundance of wildness! Clocks and Colours recommend that their silver items be left to tarnish a little, but if you’d prefer to keep your jewellery in sparkling condition, an occasional polish with a silver polishing cloth should be all that’s required!

The right choice of accessory can have an enormous impact on any outfit. The cliché that it ‘takes things to a new level’ really does apply here; selected tastefully and deployed sparingly, the right accessory can make you look better than you ever could before. This applies to functional items like watches and belts – but also to purely decorative ones like rings, pendants and bracelets.

Clocks and Colours Jewellery

When it comes to selecting the right jewellery, men undoubtedly have it a little bit harder than women. The problem is principally one of supply. Walk into any jeweller and you’ll encounter myriad rings built with women and their tastes in mind, but barely anything suitably manly. As a result, we menfolk have trouble tracking down jewellery that we might actually want to wear. Fortunately, this is a problem which the internet has stepped in to correct. Thanks to sites like the one you’re now reading, you have access to niche designers whose work might not otherwise have been able to spread very far. One such designer is Clocks and Colours – who produce a raft of products aimed firmly at men. Each of their designs is composed in Toronto, Canada, before being actually created by skilled master silversmith craftsmen in Bali. They tackle all sorts of themes that, generally speaking, appeal to blokes. Their work is currently divided into five categories, each of which deals with a certain sort of imagery. Let’s take a look at them!

Carnivores Collection

First among our manly categories is Carnivores collection. This category pays tribute, as Tennyson’s poem puts it, to ‘Nature, red in tooth and claw’. Predatory animals, and small parts of them, form the inspiration for many of these pieces – but you’ll also find herbivorous creatures in this section, too – provided that they have sizeable horns. Rhinoceroses and rams’ heads are present here, proving that you don’t need to eat meat to be a man, even if most men do.

Naturally, the animal kingdom is replete with symbolism that might inform purchases in this category. Rhinoceroses, of course, embody strength and power – so much so, in fact, that the rhino-inspired piece in this collection is named ‘the tank’. Ram’s heads, on the other hand, are emblematic of leadership and action. Aries, for example, is the astrological embodiment of rulership.

Carnivorous creatures in general tend to be associated with power and dominance. If you were to ask most people (men and women) which animal they’d prefer to be, they’d probably choose a lion over a hapless wildebeest. There’s a great deal more romance in a life of hunger and predation, after all, than one of docile grass-chomping.

It’s probably for this reason that meat-eating animals have taken on heraldic significance over the years – illustrated popularly by shows like Game of Thrones, where characters cheerily sport images the animals with which their house is associated.

Also in this category, you’ll find Sicario rings, each sporting an image of a tiny scorpion. As anyone familiar with the film of the same name will know, this term means ‘hitman’ in Spanish, and will provide a hint of danger to any outfit.

Destroyer Collection

This Destroyer collection is dedicated, as you might suspect, to things which destroy other things. Here, you’ll find an examination of artificial weapons, like bullet casings, clubs and grenades; natural disasters, like cyclones and tsunamis; and tools which have taken on a hint of danger like chainsaws and tattoo machines.

Naturally, danger has an innate sex-appeal – and so symbols of danger make for perfect subjects for jewellers. In this family, you’ll find these subjects tastefully explored. Each is great to look at, and will look the part without appearing overly garish.

Men reading this might take it as curious that their sex has been associated with such things – but we’re all for embracing such things. After all, there are few instruments more macabre than a crucifix, and people have been wearing those for ages without spending too much time dwelling on what a crucifix does! If you’ve a fascination with the machinery of destruction, even if it’s tinged with a hint of terror, then be sure to take a look at what’s on offer here!

Medieval Collection

For residents of Medieval Europe, life wasn’t particularly pleasant. Everything smelt bad, literacy was negligible, and life ended prematurely and often violently – particularly for men. It was an era of danger and misfortune that’s inspired many a romantic tale. Just think of the aforementioned Game of Thrones, or any other piece of fantastical fiction. Could anyone really envy the inhabitants of a fantasy world of this sort? There are no online jewellers to call upon, apart from anything else!

The entrants to this Medieval collection take their inspiration partly from history, and partly from fantasy. You’ll find images of undead horses, complete with plate armour, arrows, forts, and sailing ships being attacked by implausibly-proportioned cephalopods. If you’ve a fascination for this sort of thing, as so many of us do, then you’ll take pleasure in wearing it as jewellery. And, moreover, it’ll represent a little of your personality, as all great accessories should.

Of particular note in this selection is the ‘Narcissus’ pendant. It’s inspired by the tale of a beautiful young man who fell in love with his own reflection, and spent so much time looking at it that he eventually starved to death. “This pendant is a reminder that sometimes looks really can kill,” proclaim Clocks and Colours. Sage advice for those of us who spend a little too much time admiring ourselves in the bathroom rather than getting the job done and heading out!

Nautical Collection

While it might take some thought to discern why some of the other families in the Clocks and Colours range are manly, when it comes to the Nautical collection, the reason is obvious: ships, sailing and seafaring have for centuries been dominated by men – and, moreover, by a certain kind of independent, self-sufficient and physically hardy man that most of us aspire to emulate (even if we’d stop short of suffering sunburn, scurvy and seasickness while floating across the pacific on a rickety wooden vessel).

The imagery on display here is all classic and recognisable. There’s the Tortuga ring, which combines a compass with shattered earth, and the Bucko ring, which features an anchor. Then there’s the Captain ring, which sports a prominent and instantly-recognisable ship’s wheel, of the sort used to send Cook, Drake, Columbus and Blackbeard in their desired directions. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to hang your jewellery from your neck rather than wear it around your fingers, then a pendant, complete with an anchor, is sure to be suitable. Just be sure that you don’t get it caught in the rigging!

If you’ve a fascination with the sea and sailing, then the nautical collection offers precisely the required means of displaying your enthusiasm. An item from this family will let everyone around you know that you’re no land-lubber, and thus it’ll make a spectacular gift for any prospective sailor!

Mortals Collection

This collection, Mortals, celebrates everything that’s emblematic of life and death. Skulls, griffons and wildcats are all to be found here, alongside hatchets and machetes. Each item in this selection provides a touch of mystique and danger – as well as a healthy dose of the profound that’ll guide you through even the most mundane of tasks with a little perspective.

Included in this family are torc-style bracelets that’ll pop easily around your wrist. They’re built to be regularly expanded and snapped back into place, so you needn’t worry about wear-and- tear over the long term. You’ll find the Vipera cuff and a Nightstalker cuff here – both of which are sure to look the part opposite a quality wristwatch. If you’d prefer something beaded, then this section also includes several bracelets offering onyx and tiger-eye beads – both of which are sure to match nicely with a suitable ring from the range.

Jewellery Care and Attention

Each item provided by Clocks and Colours is built to look wild and untamed. Keeping things pristine, suffice to say, often runs contrary to this ambition. Sterling silver will naturally tarnish as time goes by – as it’s forever coming into contact with caustic and oxidising substances in the atmosphere. Air pollution, petrol fumes, chlorine, leather and salt can all have a destructive effect on the material.

Fortunately, that’s the way that Clocks and Colours prefer it. A little bit of wear-and- tear, they suggest, adds character and history to each piece. There’s no point wearing a ring befitting a 16th century privateer, after all, if looks as though it never left port. Moreover, we should consider that the natural rubbing effect that occurs from constant use will help to remove any tarnish before it builds to the point of visibility – and so merely wearing your stuff will help to extend its lifespan. If you’re determined to keep your silver jewellery items in good nick, however, then the occasionally polish with a special cloth should be all that’s required. You’ll be able to find these items in good jewellery shops.